No
band has taken (or perhaps deserved) more fan criticism for their
stance on peer to peer file sharing than Metallica. In a move starting
in April and clearly designed to restore some of the band’s lost good
faith with its most hardcore fans, Metallica will now record and sell
live versions of each of their concerts for $9.95 in MP3 formats and
$12.95 for FLAC files.
The band’s outspoken drummer, Lars Ulrich, is quoted on
LiveMetallica.com saying “This is the next logical step in a process
that began back in 1991 when we first implemented the Taper Section at
our shows, where our fans were encouraged to bring in their own gear to
record the show, and then take home their very own bootleg of the
concert they had just seen. This technology will enable our fans to get
the best possible recording of the show, without having to hold a
microphone in the air for the entire night!”

The most serious fans can pre-order 34 shows before they are happen
which allows the band a creative new way to make significant new
revenues from their most enthusiastic fans each and every night of a
tour. At the same time the band continues to try to outfox illegal
bootleggers by taking their products directly to their customers.

As a business, this move is likely to be a smash hit. Yet on another
level, if the band wants to repair burnt bridges with more of their
fans they might find a way to record a studio album that is also a hit.
Their St. Anger album, featuring their producer playing bass for much
of the record, is considered to be one of rock’s worst studio records
ever – up there with Van Halen III.